We are pleased to announce the final results of Information Today’s first-ever People’s Choice Awards.

We extend a round of applause to our winners, along with special thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for their favorites in the information industry. The results clear­ly speak to the quality of products, services, and individuals who stay on the cutting edge of innovation.

In this issue, we have included individual write-ups for the industries and individuals who have claimed the No. 1 spots in each of our 10 categories along with a few excerpted comments from our voters about their selections. We have included honorable mentions as well.

The two-part online voting system included one round of nominations and one round of final votes on the Information Today Web site (http://www.infotoday.com). Voting was easy; participants just followed the 2006 People’s Choice Awards icon to the online ballot on the home page and selected their favorites.

We look forward to announcing the winners and presenting the 2006 awards in recognition of their contributions and innovations throughout the industry by colleagues and peers. We’ll also be getting the 2007 People’s Choice Awards in the works in the next few weeks. We’ll keep you posted on when the nomination process will be launched online, and we hope you’ll join in the voting process again. For those who missed out on voting for their 2006 favorites, we encourage you to cast your votes for the best of show for 2007.

Again, thanks to everyone who participated in the voting process, and congratulations to our winners. CLICK HERE to view the results (PDF).

—Barbara Brynko

About the Webby Awards

The Webby Awards (http://www.webbyawards.com), which were established in 1996, have been described as the Oscars of the Internet by The New York Times. Administered by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), the awards are internationally recognized as the leading honor for Web site design and creativity.

The awards recognize excellence in Web sites for more than 65 categories including associations, blogs, nonprofit sites, government and law sites, humor and lifestyle, sports, and travel and tourism, among others. Both commercial and noncommercial sites are eligible. Past winners have included those sites designed by multinational technology companies (Google and eBay), small volunteer organizations (JURIST), and personal Web sites and blogs.

The entries are selected from submissions by Web site owners, developers, or promoters; nominations and awards are based on Web site content, structure and navigation, visual design, interactivity, and the overall Web experience. IADAS members select two Webby Awards for each category; the public votes for the Webby People’s Voice Award in each category.

This year, the Webby Awards Gala was held in New York City, hosted by Comedy Central’s Rob Corddry, and featured a performance by lifetime achievement award-winner Prince. Special achievement awards were also presented to Internet pioneer Robert Kahn, MySpace co-founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, and online entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

The Webby presentations are famous for their five-word acceptance speeches. Examples include Prince’s “Everything you think is true,” NPR’s “The democracy needs more truth,” Monster.com’s “Note to self: Update resume,” Epicurious.com’s “We are eating this up,” and JURIST’s “Our news breaks law worldwide.”

JURIST’s award group included such notables as Arianna Huffington and National Public Radio. Hibbitts describes the win as satisfying and surprising, especially hearing “buzz and applause” as JURIST’s People’s Voice Award was announced. He said he felt a bit like Sally Field: “You know us! You really know us!” And he was proud: “That’s reach, popularity, who’s noticing what you are doing. If we can play that in Peoria, then I think we’re doing pretty well.”